Bracelet chain



A. CORBI BRACELET CHAIN June 17, 1952 Filed Oct; 24, 1950 INVENTOR. 1776 6/ 6 0/261" A TTORNEY-S.

Patented June 17, 1952 BRACELET CHAIN Alfred Corbi, Pawtucket, R. I., assignor to Acco Mfg. 00., Inc., a corporation of Rhode Island Application October 24, 1950, Serial No. 191,797

This invention relates to improvements in a bracelet chain, particularly a bracelet chain of the lazy tong type.

Bracelet chains of the above character usually consist of front links and rear links which are pivoted at the middle of their length and at their ends. A retraction spring has its opposite ends, respectively, engaging a front link and a rear link. Each front link is covered with a shell to conceal the link mechanism. It is desirable to enhance the appearance of the front of the bracelet such as by means of gems. In such instances a gem setting is secured to the front cover shell as by means of solder. This embellishment of the bracelet with gems does provide a pleasing effect but adds considerably to the cost of manufacture.

The general object of the invention is to provide a bracelet chain of the above character wherein the gems are attached directly on the front links of the bracelet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bracelet chain which is embellished with gems but is of such a construction as to eliminate a soldering operation for attaching the gems.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a gem setting for a bracelet of the above character which may be used as the front link of the bracelet.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a bracelet chain in a partially expanded condition embodying my invention;

Figure 2is a similar View of the rear side of the bracelet;

Figure 3 is an exploded view in perspective and on an enlarged scale of a front and rear link and the associated elements thereof;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a front and rear link shown as being pivoted together at the middle of their length;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 55 of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale; and

Figure 6 is a plan view of the rear side of a fragmental portion of a bracelet with the cover shell omitted.

In carrying out my invention, I make the front links of the bracelet in an elongated trough shape and provide at the upper edge of the side walls of the link, shoulders for the gems to rest upon,

1 Claim. (Cl. 63-5) The gems are secured in place by prongs which are of the same integral piece of material as the said side walls of the link. The bottom wall of the link is pierced so as to provide openings for receiving the pivotal rivets which are concealed by means of the gems. Thus, I provide a bracelet chain in which the usual front cover shell and a soldering operation are eliminated with a comparable saving both in material and labor.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of the invention, Ii! designates generally a bracelet chain having front links H and rear links 52. Each front link ll comprises a generally trough-shaped elongated body 13 having a rear wall It and side walls l5 indented as at it providing a plurality of arcuate wall portions H. The upper edge of each wall portion ll is provided with a plurality of shoulders 18 from which rise prongs Hi. The bottom wall ii is provided with a central opening 20 and end openings 2 1. Thus, I provide a front link I i having a plurality of settings 22 for receiving gems 23 which rest upon the shoulders l8 and are secured in place by means of the prongs [9 being bent into engagement with the gems. Each front link H is also provided with a finger 24 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The rear links l2 each comprise an elongated plate having a central opening 25, end openings 26, and a finger 2?. Pairs of front and rear links are pivoted at their middle by means of a tubular rivet 28 passing through the said openings 25, 2E! with the head 29 of the rivet engaging one of said links and the other head 29' of said rivet being upset and engaging the other end of said links to secure said front and rear links to each other. Each pair of links is in turn connected at its ends to an adjacent pair of links such as by means of tubular rivets 30 which are passed through the end opinings 2|, 2B of a front and rear link and then upset in a usual manner. Each pair of links is thus connected to an adjacent pair of links in the manner of a lazy tong construction.

A retraction spring 3! is positioned to extend through the rivet 28 with an arm 32 of the spring extending within the front link H and engaging the finger 24 to be held in such position. The other end 33 of the spring 3! extends into engagement with the finger 2'! on the rear link to be held thereby in position. A cover shell 34 having tabs 35 is positioned to enclose the rear links and the tabs 35 are bent into engagement with the said rear link to hold the cover shell in position.

It will now be apparent that I have disclosed a bracelet chain construction of the lazy tong type in which the front link is formed in a manner so as to provide a plurality of integral gem settings for each of the said links, thereby eliminating the usual front cover shell and the soldering operation of the prior art construction.

I claim:

A bracelet chain comprising front links and rear links pivoted at the middle of their length by a common pivot and pivoted at their ends, said front links each having a rear wall to which said pivots are secured, and side walls oppositely indented to provide a plurality of individual gem settings, prongs integral with said side walls projecting from the edge thereof outwardly to provide a seat and then upwardly for securing the gems in said settings, a plurality of gems in said settings, a retraction coil spring having its ends engaging respectively with a front link and a rear link for swinging them relatively in one direction about their common pivot, a finger on each of the side walls of said front links located between two gem settings for engaging and holding one end portion of the spring, and a finger on each of said rear links for engaging and holding the other end portion of the spring, and a cover shell for each of said rear links.

ALFRED CORBI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 816,997 Pollard Apr. 3, 1906 2,032,831 Blackington Mar. 3, 1936 2,388,554 Kreisler Nov. 6, 1945 2,564,652 Templeman Aug. 14, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 505,295 Great Britain May 9, 1939 

